18 motorcycle deaths in B.C. last month prompt safety reminder

A spike in motorcycle deaths this summer has the BC Coroners Service reminding everyone on the road to be safe with the higher traffic expected this Labour Day long weekend.

Thirty people have died in motorcycle crashes from the beginning on the year until the end of July, the coroner said Wednesday, with 18 deaths in July alone. That’s more than double the same period last year.

Ninety per cent of those who died when men, the preliminary numbers say, and the highest number of deaths occurred with the Interior and Fraser health authorities – 12 and 10 this year, respectively.

Looking at data from the past 10 years, speed and impairment are still the leading factors, contributing to more than one-third of all deaths.